2 comments:

sisterbrat
said...

New reader. I apologize if this post is considered too old to comment on. You asked if Romney or his wife would have been involved with the church's welfare program.

Yes, they would have and also will be in the future. He was a bishop. Being a bishop, he would have been in charge of the ward's Bishop's Storehouse. The bishop is involved in all of it. To receive assistance one must go to the bishop and explain what is wrong and what help is needed. Then the bishop gets the wheels rolling. If it is monetary, like help with a bill or such, it comes from the ward, if it is food or clothing, that comes from higher up the chain, but it is all initiated through the bishopric.

Each ward has a fund from fast sundays. The first Sunday of every month is designated Fast and Testimony meeting. Ward members fast for two meals, and tithe the money that would have been spent getting those meals as a fast offering, which is separate from regular tithing.

Welfare from the LDS perspective is different though than what it has come to mean. Providence and self-sufficiency is encouraged straight alongside charity and helping those less fortunate. The goal is to provide help when needed but to get people to the point where they are on their feet and then helping others. Hope this helped.

Sisterbrat,Thank you very much for your contribution---I think it is very helpful indeed.Don't worry too much about the age of the post in commenting. This isn't such an incredibly high traffic blog that I find it necessary to lock old posts.